EP0496398A2 - Sheet feeding apparatus - Google Patents
Sheet feeding apparatus Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP0496398A2 EP0496398A2 EP92101087A EP92101087A EP0496398A2 EP 0496398 A2 EP0496398 A2 EP 0496398A2 EP 92101087 A EP92101087 A EP 92101087A EP 92101087 A EP92101087 A EP 92101087A EP 0496398 A2 EP0496398 A2 EP 0496398A2
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- sheet
- sheet feeding
- feeding apparatus
- skew
- rotary member
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
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Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
- G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
- G03G15/00—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H9/00—Registering, e.g. orientating, articles; Devices therefor
- B65H9/16—Inclined tape, roller, or like article-forwarding side registers
- B65H9/166—Roller
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
- G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
- G03G15/00—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern
- G03G15/65—Apparatus which relate to the handling of copy material
- G03G15/6555—Handling of sheet copy material taking place in a specific part of the copy material feeding path
- G03G15/6558—Feeding path after the copy sheet preparation and up to the transfer point, e.g. registering; Deskewing; Correct timing of sheet feeding to the transfer point
- G03G15/6561—Feeding path after the copy sheet preparation and up to the transfer point, e.g. registering; Deskewing; Correct timing of sheet feeding to the transfer point for sheet registration
- G03G15/6564—Feeding path after the copy sheet preparation and up to the transfer point, e.g. registering; Deskewing; Correct timing of sheet feeding to the transfer point for sheet registration with correct timing of sheet feeding
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
- G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
- G03G15/00—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern
- G03G15/65—Apparatus which relate to the handling of copy material
- G03G15/6555—Handling of sheet copy material taking place in a specific part of the copy material feeding path
- G03G15/6558—Feeding path after the copy sheet preparation and up to the transfer point, e.g. registering; Deskewing; Correct timing of sheet feeding to the transfer point
- G03G15/6567—Feeding path after the copy sheet preparation and up to the transfer point, e.g. registering; Deskewing; Correct timing of sheet feeding to the transfer point for deskewing or aligning
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
- G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
- G03G2215/00—Apparatus for electrophotographic processes
- G03G2215/00362—Apparatus for electrophotographic processes relating to the copy medium handling
- G03G2215/00367—The feeding path segment where particular handling of the copy medium occurs, segments being adjacent and non-overlapping. Each segment is identified by the most downstream point in the segment, so that for instance the segment labelled "Fixing device" is referring to the path between the "Transfer device" and the "Fixing device"
- G03G2215/00405—Registration device
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
- G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
- G03G2215/00—Apparatus for electrophotographic processes
- G03G2215/00362—Apparatus for electrophotographic processes relating to the copy medium handling
- G03G2215/00535—Stable handling of copy medium
- G03G2215/00556—Control of copy medium feeding
- G03G2215/00561—Aligning or deskewing
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
- G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
- G03G2215/00—Apparatus for electrophotographic processes
- G03G2215/00362—Apparatus for electrophotographic processes relating to the copy medium handling
- G03G2215/00535—Stable handling of copy medium
- G03G2215/00679—Conveying means details, e.g. roller
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a sheet feeding apparatus suitable to be connected to an image forming system such as a copying machine, printer, facsimile and the like, and more particularly, it relates to a structure for positioning a recording sheet on which an image is to be formed in a transverse or lateral direction.
- the recording sheet In an image forming system such as a copying machine, printer, facsimile and the like (referred to as "copying machine and the like" hereinafter), in order to form an image on a recording sheet at a correct position, the recording sheet must be supplied to the image forming system with a proper posture of the recording sheet.
- the correction of the posture of the recording sheet i.e., the correction of the skew-feed of the recording sheet is generally performed in a sheet supplying/feeding apparatus.
- the correction methods are generally grouped into two kinds depending upon which portion of the recording sheet is used as a reference.
- a first correction method utilizes a sheet supplying/feeding apparatus wherein a leading end of a recording sheet is used as a reference.
- An example of such apparatus is shown in Fig. 9.
- Such apparatus comprises sheet feed rollers 91 for feeding the recording sheet P in a direction shown by the arrow A, and a pair of upper and lower regist rollers 92a, 92b disposed at a downstream side of the sheet feed rollers 91.
- a loop is formed in a portion of the recording sheet P between the sheet feed rollers 91 and the nip 93 to correct the skew-feed of the sheet.
- the leading end P1 of the recording sheet P is urged against the nip 93, thus positioning the leading end P1 of the sheet along the nip 93 correctly.
- the recording sheet P is fed in a condition that the skew-feed of the sheet is corrected by using the leading end P1 thereof as the reference.
- the lengths of the regist rollers 92a, 92b in a left-and-right direction (transverse direction) are so selected that a lateral width of the nip 93 becomes greater than a length of the leading end P1 of the recording sheet P.
- a second method for correcting the skew-feed of the recording sheet P utilizes one lateral edge P2 of a recording sheet P as a reference, as shown in Fig. 10.
- a reference guide 95 is disposed along a recording sheet feeding path, and, by a sheet feed roller 86 and skew-feed rollers 97, the recording sheet P is fed forwardly (in a direction A) and at the same time is shifted to a transverse direction (shown by the arrow B).
- the skew-feed rollers 97 are inclined at predetermined skew-feed angles ⁇ 1, ⁇ 2, respectively, so that the recording sheet P being moved forwardly is shifted laterally by forces (referred to as "skew-feed forces" hereinafter) depending upon the skew-feed angles ⁇ 1, ⁇ 2, thus slidingly contacting the lateral edge P2 of the recording sheet with the reference guide 95.
- skew-feed forces forces
- Fig. 11 shows another example that a lateral edge of a recording sheet is used as a reference.
- a reference surface 52 is formed on a lateral surface of a frame 53, and there are disposed a tapered roller 61 having a diameter gradually decreasing toward the reference surface 52 and a cylindrical roller 62 urged against the roller 61 and driven by the rotation of the latter.
- a recording sheet 51 is pinched between and fed by the rollers 61, 62.
- An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet feeding apparatus wherein skew-feed forces are adjustable to eliminate the structural, spatial and time losses and to prevent a lateral edge of a recording sheet from being damaged.
- a laser beam copying machine 1 is shown in Fig. 4 as an example of an image forming system into which a sheet feeding apparatus 10 according to the present invention is incorporated.
- a sheet supply cassette 20 containing therein a plurality of recording sheets P on each of which an image is to be formed in mounted within the copying machine 1 at a lower portion thereof.
- An intermediate plate 21 rockable around a rear end 21a thereof is disposed within the sheet supply cassette 20, and a leading end portion 21b of the intermediate plate 21 is biased upwardly by means of a spring 22 disposed between the intermediate plate and a bottom plate 20a of the sheet supply cassette 20.
- the recording sheets P are stacked on the upwardly biased intermediate plate 21, and separating pawls 23 contact with forward corners of an uppermost recording sheet P from above.
- the separating pawls 23 are rockable around pins 23a disposed at rear ends of the pawls so that the separating pawls ride on the forward corners of the recording sheet P by their own weights.
- a sheet supply roller 31 having a cylindrical surface 31a and a flat surface 31b is disposed above the stacked recording sheets P at the leading end portions thereof.
- the uppermost recording sheet P is moved by a friction force between the cylindrical surface 31a of the roller and the uppermost sheet and is separated from the other recording sheets by the separating pawls 23, and then is supplied forwardly (in a direction shown by the arrow A) while being guided by a guide surface 20b formed on a front end portion of the sheet supply cassette 20, to reach the sheet feeding apparatus 10.
- the sheet feeding apparatus 10 comprises a sheet feed roller 11, and a plurality of skew-feed rollers 12a, 12b, 12c urged against the sheet feed roller 11, so that the recording sheet P supplied by the sheet supply roller 31 is pinched between and fed by the sheet feed roller and the skew-feed rollers.
- the skew-feed rollers 12a, 12b, 12c are rotatably mounted on free ends of arms 13a, 13b, 13c, respectively, which arms are pivotally supported at their base ends and are attached, at their intermediate portions, to a body frame 1a of the machine via springs 15a, 15b, 15c, respectively.
- a guide plate 16 for regulating the position of the recording sheet P in an up-and-down direction is secured to the body frame 1a so that the recording sheet P is guided between the sheet feed roller 11 and the guide plate 16 toward an image forming portion 50.
- the sheet feeding apparatus 10 having the sheet feed roller 11 and the skew-feed rollers 12a, 12b, 12c as main components will be described later fully.
- the image forming portion 50 includes a photosensitive drum 52 disposed within a process cartridge 51.
- the photosensitive drum 52 is uniformly charged with predetermined positive or negative potential by means of a primary charger (not shown), and then is exposed at an exposure portion 53 by a scanning laser beam L emitted from a laser scanner 60, so that a aimed or intended image information is scanned and written on the photosensitive drum, with the result that electrostatic latent images corresponding to the aimed image information are sequentially formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 52.
- the photosensitive drum 52 on which the latent images were formed thereon is then developed by a developing device 56 with an image visualizing agent (toner) to visualize the latent images as toner images.
- an image visualizing agent toner
- the toner images pass through a transfer roller 57, they are sequentially transferred onto the recording sheet P fed between the transfer roller 57 and the photosensitive drum 52 one by one from the sheet feeding apparatus 10.
- the transferring of the toner image from the photosensitive drum 52 to the recording sheet P is effected by charging the back surface of the recording sheet with the charging polarity opposite to that of the toner image by means of the transfer roller 57.
- the charge on the recording sheet is removed from the sheet by means of a separating and charge removing probe 59 disposed at a downstream side of the transfer roller 57 and charged with the charging polarity opposite to that of the transfer roller 57, with the result that the recording sheet is separated from the photosensitive drum 52.
- non-fixed toner images are permanently fixed to the recording sheet by a fixing device 70.
- the recording sheet P on which the images were fixed is ejected onto an ejection tray 72 by means of a pair of ejector rollers 71.
- the residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 52 is removed from the drum by means of a cleaning device (not shown) for preparation for the next image formation.
- the sheet feeding apparatus 10 comprises a reference guide 17 and a compression spring 19 acting as a biasing means, as well as the aforementioned sheet feed roller 11 and skew-feed rollers 12a, 12b, 12c.
- a smooth guide surface 17a is formed on an inner side of the reference guide 17.
- the guide surface 17a serves to regulate a position of one lateral edge P2 of the recording sheet P in a transverse direction (shown by the arrow B), thus positioning the whole recording sheet P in the transverse direction, and to correct the skew-feed of the recording sheet P.
- the guide surface 17a is so disposed that the position thereof in the transverse direction B is situated slightly outward of the lateral edges P2 of the recording sheets P housed in the sheet supply cassette 20.
- a width regulating plate 25 is arranged in the sheet supply cassette 20, and a width guide surface 25a is formed on an inner side of the width regulating plate to regulate one lateral edges P2 of the recording sheet P housed in the sheet supply cassette 20.
- a distance ⁇ 1 between the width guide surface 15a and the guide surface 17a of the reference guide 17 is selected as smaller as possible. In this embodiment, the distance ⁇ 1 is selected to have a value of 1.5 mm.
- An introduction portion 17b of the reference guide 17 disposed near the separating pawl 23 is flared toward the separating pawl 23 so that the forward corner of the recording sheet P is not caught by the reference guide 17 when the sheet is supplied.
- An attachment shaft 17c provided at its free end with a large diameter stopper portion 17d extends through a central portion of the guide surface 17a of the reference guide 17, which attachment shaft has a D-shaped or semi-circular cross-section.
- the sheet feed roller 11 is non-rotatably mounted on the attachment shaft 17c for axial movement in a direction (shown by the arrow B).
- a compression spring 19 is disposed between an inner surface 11a of the sheet feed roller 11 and the stopper portion 17d of the attachment shaft 17c, so that, when the spring 19 is in a free condition, a proper clearance d is established between an outer surface 11b of the sheet feed roller 11 and the guide surface 17a of the reference guide 17.
- the compression spring 19 when the sheet feed roller 11 is subjected to an inwardly directed lateral force, i.e., a force acting to separate the sheet feed roller 11 from the reference guide 17, the compression spring 19 is compressed, with the result that the sheet feed roller 11 is biased toward the reference guide 17 by the compressed spring 19.
- the feature of the compression spring 19 and a distance ⁇ 2 between the inner surface 11a of the sheet feed roller 11 and the stopper portion 17d are so selected that a shifting amount of the sheet feed roller 11 with respect to the reference guide 17 is greater than 0.5 mm but smaller than 10 mm.
- the reference symbol M denotes a motor for drivingly rotating the attachment shaft 17c.
- the above-mentioned skew-feed rollers 12a, 12b, 12c are urged against an outer peripheral surface 11c of the sheet feed roller 11 via the above-mentioned arms 13a, 13b, 13c and springs 15a, 15b, 15c.
- Shafts of the skew-feed rollers 12a, 12b, 12c are slightly inclined at skew-feed angles ⁇ 1, ⁇ 2, ⁇ 3, respectively, with respect to the transverse direction (axial direction of the sheet feed roller 11) so that the recording sheet P is shifted laterally toward the reference guide 17 by skew-feed forces depending upon such skew-feed angles.
- the skew-feed angles ⁇ 1, ⁇ 2, ⁇ 3 are obtained by measuring them on cylindrical peripheral surfaces passing through the centers of the skew-feed rollers 12a, 12b, 12c and having centerlines coincided with the centerline of the sheet feed roller 11.
- such skew-feed angles are selected, for example, so that ⁇ 1 becomes 0.5 degree, ⁇ 2 becomes 4 degrees, and ⁇ 3 becomes 4 degrees.
- the urging forces of the skew-feed rollers 12a, 12b, 12c against the sheet feed roller 11 are about 400 grams weight in total
- the skew-feed forces for shifting the recording sheet P in the transverse direction by the skew-feed rollers 12a, 12b, 12c are about 150 grams weight
- a spring force of the compression spring 19 is about 70 grams weight at the maximum.
- the recording sheet P is subjected to a skew-feed force F3 of the skew-feed roller 12c, and, before or after this, the lateral edge P1 of the recording sheet P is abutted against the guide surface 17a of the reference guide 17.
- the recording sheet P is subjected to a reaction force F0 corresponding to the total skew-feed force (F1 + F2 + F3) from the reference guide 17, with the result that the sheet feed roller 11 is subjected to a force having substantially the same direction and magnitude as that of the reaction force F0 from the recording sheet P.
- the total skew-feed force is selected to have a value of about 150 grams weight as mentioned above, and, when the total skew-feed force acts on the sheet feed roller 11, since the total skew-feed force overcomes the spring force (about 70 grams weight) of the compression spring 19, the spring is compressed, thus starting to separate the sheet feed roller 11 from the reference guide 17.
- a force of about 70 grams weight is applied to the recording sheet P by the compression spring 19, with the result that the lateral edge P1 of the recording sheet is urged against the reference guide 17 with a force of about 70 grams weight.
- the skew-feed forces F1, F2, F3 of the skew-feed rollers 12a, 12b, 12c act on the recording sheet P adequately, thus urging the recording sheet P against the reference guide 17 quickly, and, when the recording sheet P is once contacted with the reference guide 17, the recording sheet P is stably urged against the reference guide 17 with the accurate, stable and constant force F by means of the compression spring 19.
- the recording sheet P is shifted for a short time by the greater skew-feed forces until the recording sheet is abutted against the reference guide 17; and, after abutted, the recording sheet P is urged against the reference guide with the force which is smaller than the skew-feed forces and which has the good following ability via the compression spring 19, thus preventing the lateral edge P1 of the recording sheet from being damaged.
- the sheet feed roller 11 is shifted laterally until the recording sheet leaves the sheet feed roller 11.
- the shifting amount of about 3 mm was sufficient to permit such lateral shifting of the sheet feed roller.
- a skew-feed roller for applying the skew-feed force to the recording sheet P
- a skew-feed roller as shown in Fig. 5 may be used.
- such skew-feed roller is provided at its peripheral surface 12d with a spiral groove 12e.
- the number of the skew-feed rollers is not limited to three, but any number of skew-feed rollers may be used.
- the biasing means in place of the compression spring 19, a leaf spring or a cylinder/plunger assembly may be used, for example. That is to say, any biasing means may be used so long as it can effectively bias the sheet feed roller 11.
- the recording sheets P are separated by the separating pawls was explained, the recording sheets may be separated and fed by other sheet supply means other than the separating pawls.
- the skew-feed rollers may be shiftable and be spring biased, or both of the sheet fed roller and the skew-feed rollers may be shiftable and be spring biased.
- Fig. 6 is a plan view of a sheet feeding apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention
- Fig. 7 is a side view of the apparatus.
- a body frame 101 of the sheet feeding apparatus is disposed along a sheet feeding direction shown by the arrow a for a recording sheet 102.
- a reference surface 101a for regulating the sheet feeding direction for the recording sheet 102 is formed on an inner side surface of the body frame 101, and a guide 103 acting as a sheet feeding surface for the recording sheet 102 is disposed at a side (right side in Fig. 6) of the reference surface 101a.
- An opening 103a is formed in the guide 103 at a predetermined position.
- a tapered sheet feed roller (rotary member) 104 is disposed above the opening 103a at a fixed position, and a driven roller 105 urged against the sheet feed roller 104 is disposed within the opening 103a.
- the sheet feed roller 104 is attached to a shaft 106 rotatably supported by the frame 101 and rotated by a driving force from a driving source (not shown).
- the sheet feed roller 104 applies a feeding force to the recording sheet 102 to shift the latter toward the direction a and toward the reference surface 101a.
- the sheet feed roller 104 has a tapered body having predetermined length and tapered angle.
- the tapered body of the sheet feed roller 104 attached to the shaft 106 has a diameter gradually decreasing toward the reference surface 101a.
- the driven roller 105 cooperates with the sheet feed roller 104 to feed the recording sheet 102 in the direction a .
- the driven roller 105 is mounted on a shaft 105a disposed below the guide 103 and is urged against the sheet feed roller 104 by a biasing force of a spring 105d.
- the driven roller 105 has a length longer than that of the sheet feed roller 104 and substantially equal to a length of two-flat plane portion 106a of the shaft 106 which will be described later.
- the driven roller 105 has a parallel portion 105a of a predetermined length disposed at an end of the roller nearer to the reference surface 101a, and a smaller diameter portion 105b disposed near an end of the roller remote from the reference surface 101a.
- the shaft 106 has the two-flat plane portion 106a having a predetermined length, and a head 106b is formed on the end of the two-flat plane portion 106a.
- the sheet feed roller 104 is slidably mounted on the two-flat plane portion 106a of the shaft 106 by inserting a hole 104a of the sheet feed roller having the same cross-section as that of the two-flat plane portion 106a onto the latter.
- a spring 107 is arranged between the head 106b and the sheet feed roller 104 to bias the latter toward the reference surface 101a.
- the spring constant of the spring 107 is so set as to have a relatively small value.
- the reference numerals 107a, 107b denote rings acting as washers for the spring 107.
- a gear 108 is secured to the other end of the shaft 106, which gear is meshed with a gear 109 constituting a part of a gear train arranged on the frame 101.
- the sheet feed roller 104 is rotated in a direction shown by the arrow b.
- the recording sheet 102 is supplied from a sheet supply means (not shown) in a condition that the lateral edge of the sheet is spaced apart from the reference surface 101a by a distance l, for example.
- a sheet supply means not shown
- the sheet 102 is pinched between the sheet feed roller 104 rotating in the direction b and the driven roller 105 urged against the sheet fed roller 104, in accordance with a friction force between the sheet feed roller 104 and the sheet 102 and the tapered angle of the sheet feed roller, the sheet 102 is subjected to a force f1 directing toward the sheet feeding direction a and a force f2 directing toward the reference surface 101a, with the result that the sheet 102 is shifted toward the sheet feeding direction a and toward the reference surface 101a.
- a force corresponding to the force f2 acts on the spring 107 to flex the latter, so that the total force comprised of the spring force and a friction force between an inner peripheral surface of the sheet feed roller 104 and an outer peripheral surface of the shaft 106 is balanced with the force f2.
- the spring 197 is compressed depending upon this force, thus shifting the sheet feed roller 104 along the two-flat plane portion 106a of the shaft 106 in a direction that the roller is separated from the reference surface 101a (toward the head 106b). That is to say, the spring constant of the spring 107 is selected so as to be smaller than a backling force of the sheet 102, in consideration of the friction force between the inner peripheral surface of the sheet feed roller 104 and the outer peripheral surface of the shaft 106.
- a shifting amount of the sheet feed roller 104 varies in accordance with the length of the sheet 102. That is to say, the longer the sheet 102 the greater the shifting amount of the sheet feed roller.
- the sheet feed roller 104 is shifted toward the head 106b in accordance with the feeding length of the sheet 102.
- the sheet feed roller 104 reaches the smaller diameter portion 105b of the driven roller 105, the urging force of the driven roller 105 against the sheet feed roller 104 becomes weaker. Consequently, the feeding force applied to the sheet 102 also becomes weaker, thus weakening the force f2' acting on the sheet feed roller 104.
- the flexing amount of the spring 107 becomes smaller than that when the sheet feed roller 104 is abutted against the parallel portion 105a of the driven roller 105.
- the spring 107 is not urged toward the head 106b excessively, and thus, if the sheet is long, it is not urged against the reference surface 101a with the excessive force, thereby preventing the damage of the spring 107.
- Fig. 8 is a plan view of a sheet feeding apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
- the same constructural elements as those in the above second embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.
- An elongated slot 110 extending to a sheet feeding direction a is formed in a frame 101 in such a manner that it is positioned above a guide 103 by a predetermined distance.
- a spring 111 is attached to the frame at a predetermined distance from the slot 110.
- the shaft 113 is rotatably mounted on the frame 101 in such a manner that it is biased toward a reference surface 101a by means of the spring 111.
- the sheet feed roller 112 is biased toward the guide 103 by means of a spring (not shown).
- the biasing of the sheet feed roller may be effected in the same manner as that shown in Fig. 6.
- Stoppers 114, 115 for regulating an inclined angle of the shaft 113 are disposed along the elongated slot 110.
- the stopper 114 is disposed at a position where the shaft 113 becomes perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction a
- the stopper 115 is disposed at a position where it regulates the maximum angle between the shaft 113 and the sheet feeding direction a .
- a gear 108 is secured to the shaft 113.
- the sheet feed roller 112 is rotated in a direction shown by the arrow b.
- the gear 108 and the sheet feed roller 112 are secured to the shaft 113, when a distance between a center of the frame 101 (around which the shaft is rocked) and the gear 108 is L1 and a distance between the center of the frame and the sheet feed roller 112 is L2, it is so selected that the distance L2 is sufficiently longer than the distance L1.
- the sheet feed roller 112 is biased by the spring to be inclined as shown by the solid line in Fig. 8.
- the sheet 102 is supplied in such a manner that the lateral edge of the sheet is spaced apart from the reference surface 101a by a distance l, the sheet 102 is subjected to a feeding force directing toward the sheet feeding direction a and a feeding force directing toward the reference surface 101a, and is shifted toward the sheet feeding direction a and toward the reference surface 101a in opposition to a friction force (f3) between the sheet 102 and the guide 103.
- the spring 111 is flexed to vary the inclination angle of the shaft 113, with the result that the sheet feed roller 112 is shifted from the solid line position to the broken line position.
- the feeding force acting on the sheet 102 and directing toward the reference surface 101a becomes weaker accordingly, and, the sheet feed roller 112 is shifted until the compression force f1 acting on the sheet 102 by the sheet feed roller 112 is balanced with the spring force f2, and then, the sheet feed roller is held at that position.
- the present invention is not limited to this example, but both of the rollers may comprise skew-feed rollers.
- a member which cooperates with the skew-feed rollers to pinch the sheet therebetween is not limited to the rotary member such as the sheet feed roller, but may be constituted by a guide member having a smooth surface.
- the present invention provides a sheet feeding apparatus, comprising regulating means disposed along a sheet feeding path and adapted to regulated position of a lateral edge of a sheet, sheet feeding means for feeding the sheet along the sheet feeding path and for applying force to the sheet to urge the lateral edge of the sheet against the regulating means, and support means for supporting the sheet feeding means in such a manner that the sheet feeding means can be shifted in response to reaction force corresponding to the aforementioned force and received from the sheet.
Abstract
Description
- The present invention relates to a sheet feeding apparatus suitable to be connected to an image forming system such as a copying machine, printer, facsimile and the like, and more particularly, it relates to a structure for positioning a recording sheet on which an image is to be formed in a transverse or lateral direction.
- In an image forming system such as a copying machine, printer, facsimile and the like (referred to as "copying machine and the like" hereinafter), in order to form an image on a recording sheet at a correct position, the recording sheet must be supplied to the image forming system with a proper posture of the recording sheet. The correction of the posture of the recording sheet, i.e., the correction of the skew-feed of the recording sheet is generally performed in a sheet supplying/feeding apparatus. In this case, the correction methods are generally grouped into two kinds depending upon which portion of the recording sheet is used as a reference.
- A first correction method utilizes a sheet supplying/feeding apparatus wherein a leading end of a recording sheet is used as a reference. An example of such apparatus is shown in Fig. 9.
- Such apparatus comprises
sheet feed rollers 91 for feeding the recording sheet P in a direction shown by the arrow A, and a pair of upper andlower regist rollers sheet feed rollers 91. When the recording sheet P continues to be fed after a leading end P1 of the recording sheet P has been abutted against anip 93 between theregist rollers sheet feed rollers 91 and thenip 93 to correct the skew-feed of the sheet. By forming the loop, the leading end P1 of the recording sheet P is urged against thenip 93, thus positioning the leading end P1 of the sheet along thenip 93 correctly. Thereafter, when theregist rollers regist rollers nip 93 becomes greater than a length of the leading end P1 of the recording sheet P. - A second method for correcting the skew-feed of the recording sheet P utilizes one lateral edge P2 of a recording sheet P as a reference, as shown in Fig. 10.
- According to this second method, a
reference guide 95 is disposed along a recording sheet feeding path, and, by a sheet feed roller 86 and skew-feed rollers 97, the recording sheet P is fed forwardly (in a direction A) and at the same time is shifted to a transverse direction (shown by the arrow B). The skew-feed rollers 97 are inclined at predetermined skew-feed angles α 1, α 2, respectively, so that the recording sheet P being moved forwardly is shifted laterally by forces (referred to as "skew-feed forces" hereinafter) depending upon the skew-feed angles α 1, α 2, thus slidingly contacting the lateral edge P2 of the recording sheet with thereference guide 95. In this way, the skew-feed of the recording sheet is corrected by using the lateral edge P2 thereof as the reference. - Fig. 11 shows another example that a lateral edge of a recording sheet is used as a reference. In this example, a
reference surface 52 is formed on a lateral surface of aframe 53, and there are disposed atapered roller 61 having a diameter gradually decreasing toward thereference surface 52 and acylindrical roller 62 urged against theroller 61 and driven by the rotation of the latter. By rotating theroller 61 via agear 56, arecording sheet 51 is pinched between and fed by therollers roller 61 and is shifted toward thereference surface 52 depending upon an amount of the taper of theroller 61, it is possible to feed the recording sheet while abutting a lateral edge of the sheet against thereference surface 52. In this apparatus, a force acting on therecording sheet 51 to shift it toward thereference surface 52 is determined by the amount of the taper of theroller 61. - However, in the above-mentioned apparatuses, when the leading end P1 of the recording sheet P is used as the reference (Fig. 9), since the
regist rollers nip 93, the time loss was also increased, thus making the speed-up of the feeding of the recording sheet difficult. - On the other hand, when the lateral edge P2 of the recording sheet is used as the reference (Figs. 10 and 11), although the above drawbacks can be eliminated, there arose a problem that it was very difficult to properly set the skew-feed forces of the skew-
feed rollers 97 acting on the recording sheet P. That is to say, if the skew-feed forces were too strong, although the lateral edge P2 of the recording sheet P reached thereference guide 95 for a short time to reduce the skew-feed correcting time, it was feared that the lateral edge P2 of the sheet was more apt to be damaged by the reference guide 95 (refer to Fig. 12). To the contrary, if the skew-feed forces were too weak, although the risk of the damage of the lateral edge P2 of the sheet was reduce, it took a long time to correct the skew-feed of the recording sheet. - Incidentally, if the lateral edge of the recording sheet is damaged, not only the worth of the recording sheet itself is diminished, but also it is more apt to cause the abnormity in the sheet feeding, such as the jamming of the sheet.
- An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet feeding apparatus wherein skew-feed forces are adjustable to eliminate the structural, spatial and time losses and to prevent a lateral edge of a recording sheet from being damaged.
-
- Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a whole construction of a sheet feeding apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention;
- Figs. 2 and 3 are plan views of the sheet feeding apparatus for explaining an operation thereof;
- Fig. 4 is an elevational sectional view of a copying machine into which the sheet feeding apparatus according to the first embodiment is incorporated;
- Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a skew-feed roller as an alteration;
- Fig. 6 is a plan view of a sheet feeding apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention;
- Fig. 7 is a sectional side view of a portion of the apparatus of Fig. 6;
- Fig. 8 is a plan view of a sheet feeding apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention;
- Fig. 9 is a schematic perspective view of a conventional sheet feeding apparatus;
- Fig. 10 is a schematic perspective view of another conventional sheet feeding apparatus;
- Fig. 11 is an elevational view of a further conventional sheet feeding apparatus; and
- Fig. 12 is a plan view of a recording sheet a lateral edge of which was damaged by the conventional sheet feeding apparatuses.
- The present invention will now be explained in connection with embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings.
- First of all, a laser beam copying machine 1 is shown in Fig. 4 as an example of an image forming system into which a
sheet feeding apparatus 10 according to the present invention is incorporated. - In Fig. 4, a
sheet supply cassette 20 containing therein a plurality of recording sheets P on each of which an image is to be formed in mounted within the copying machine 1 at a lower portion thereof. Anintermediate plate 21 rockable around arear end 21a thereof is disposed within thesheet supply cassette 20, and a leadingend portion 21b of theintermediate plate 21 is biased upwardly by means of aspring 22 disposed between the intermediate plate and abottom plate 20a of thesheet supply cassette 20. The recording sheets P are stacked on the upwardly biasedintermediate plate 21, and separatingpawls 23 contact with forward corners of an uppermost recording sheet P from above. The separatingpawls 23 are rockable aroundpins 23a disposed at rear ends of the pawls so that the separating pawls ride on the forward corners of the recording sheet P by their own weights. - A
sheet supply roller 31 having acylindrical surface 31a and aflat surface 31b is disposed above the stacked recording sheets P at the leading end portions thereof. When thesheet supply roller 31 is rotated, the uppermost recording sheet P is moved by a friction force between thecylindrical surface 31a of the roller and the uppermost sheet and is separated from the other recording sheets by the separatingpawls 23, and then is supplied forwardly (in a direction shown by the arrow A) while being guided by aguide surface 20b formed on a front end portion of thesheet supply cassette 20, to reach thesheet feeding apparatus 10. Thesheet feeding apparatus 10 comprises asheet feed roller 11, and a plurality of skew-feed rollers sheet feed roller 11, so that the recording sheet P supplied by thesheet supply roller 31 is pinched between and fed by the sheet feed roller and the skew-feed rollers. The skew-feed rollers arms body frame 1a of the machine viasprings guide plate 16 for regulating the position of the recording sheet P in an up-and-down direction is secured to thebody frame 1a so that the recording sheet P is guided between thesheet feed roller 11 and theguide plate 16 toward animage forming portion 50. - Incidentally, the
sheet feeding apparatus 10 having thesheet feed roller 11 and the skew-feed rollers - The
image forming portion 50 includes aphotosensitive drum 52 disposed within aprocess cartridge 51. During the rotation of the drum, thephotosensitive drum 52 is uniformly charged with predetermined positive or negative potential by means of a primary charger (not shown), and then is exposed at anexposure portion 53 by a scanning laser beam L emitted from alaser scanner 60, so that a aimed or intended image information is scanned and written on the photosensitive drum, with the result that electrostatic latent images corresponding to the aimed image information are sequentially formed on the surface of thephotosensitive drum 52. Thephotosensitive drum 52 on which the latent images were formed thereon is then developed by a developingdevice 56 with an image visualizing agent (toner) to visualize the latent images as toner images. - Then, when the toner images pass through a
transfer roller 57, they are sequentially transferred onto the recording sheet P fed between thetransfer roller 57 and thephotosensitive drum 52 one by one from thesheet feeding apparatus 10. The transferring of the toner image from thephotosensitive drum 52 to the recording sheet P is effected by charging the back surface of the recording sheet with the charging polarity opposite to that of the toner image by means of thetransfer roller 57. Then, the charge on the recording sheet is removed from the sheet by means of a separating andcharge removing probe 59 disposed at a downstream side of thetransfer roller 57 and charged with the charging polarity opposite to that of thetransfer roller 57, with the result that the recording sheet is separated from thephotosensitive drum 52. - Thereafter, non-fixed toner images are permanently fixed to the recording sheet by a
fixing device 70. Then, the recording sheet P on which the images were fixed is ejected onto anejection tray 72 by means of a pair ofejector rollers 71. - On the other hand, after the toner image have been transferred to the recording sheet, the residual toner remaining on the
photosensitive drum 52 is removed from the drum by means of a cleaning device (not shown) for preparation for the next image formation. - Next, the
sheet feeding apparatus 10 according to the present invention will be explained with reference to Figs. 1 and 2. - The
sheet feeding apparatus 10 comprises areference guide 17 and acompression spring 19 acting as a biasing means, as well as the aforementionedsheet feed roller 11 and skew-feed rollers smooth guide surface 17a is formed on an inner side of thereference guide 17. Theguide surface 17a serves to regulate a position of one lateral edge P2 of the recording sheet P in a transverse direction (shown by the arrow B), thus positioning the whole recording sheet P in the transverse direction, and to correct the skew-feed of the recording sheet P. Theguide surface 17a is so disposed that the position thereof in the transverse direction B is situated slightly outward of the lateral edges P2 of the recording sheets P housed in thesheet supply cassette 20. That is to say, awidth regulating plate 25 is arranged in thesheet supply cassette 20, and awidth guide surface 25a is formed on an inner side of the width regulating plate to regulate one lateral edges P2 of the recording sheet P housed in thesheet supply cassette 20. A distance Δ 1 between thewidth guide surface 15a and theguide surface 17a of thereference guide 17 is selected as smaller as possible. In this embodiment, the distance Δ 1 is selected to have a value of 1.5 mm. Anintroduction portion 17b of thereference guide 17 disposed near the separatingpawl 23 is flared toward the separatingpawl 23 so that the forward corner of the recording sheet P is not caught by thereference guide 17 when the sheet is supplied. - An
attachment shaft 17c provided at its free end with a largediameter stopper portion 17d extends through a central portion of theguide surface 17a of thereference guide 17, which attachment shaft has a D-shaped or semi-circular cross-section. Thesheet feed roller 11 is non-rotatably mounted on theattachment shaft 17c for axial movement in a direction (shown by the arrow B). Acompression spring 19 is disposed between aninner surface 11a of thesheet feed roller 11 and thestopper portion 17d of theattachment shaft 17c, so that, when thespring 19 is in a free condition, a proper clearance d is established between an outer surface 11b of thesheet feed roller 11 and theguide surface 17a of thereference guide 17. Thus, when thesheet feed roller 11 is subjected to an inwardly directed lateral force, i.e., a force acting to separate thesheet feed roller 11 from thereference guide 17, thecompression spring 19 is compressed, with the result that thesheet feed roller 11 is biased toward thereference guide 17 by thecompressed spring 19. Incidentally, the feature of thecompression spring 19 and a distance Δ 2 between theinner surface 11a of thesheet feed roller 11 and thestopper portion 17d are so selected that a shifting amount of thesheet feed roller 11 with respect to thereference guide 17 is greater than 0.5 mm but smaller than 10 mm. Incidentally, the reference symbol M denotes a motor for drivingly rotating theattachment shaft 17c. - The above-mentioned skew-
feed rollers sheet feed roller 11 via the above-mentionedarms feed rollers reference guide 17 by skew-feed forces depending upon such skew-feed angles. - Incidentally, the skew-feed angles ϑ1, ϑ2, ϑ 3 are obtained by measuring them on cylindrical peripheral surfaces passing through the centers of the skew-
feed rollers sheet feed roller 11. In the illustrated embodiment, such skew-feed angles are selected, for example, so that ϑ1 becomes 0.5 degree, ϑ2 becomes 4 degrees, and ϑ3 becomes 4 degrees. Further, the urging forces of the skew-feed rollers sheet feed roller 11 are about 400 grams weight in total, the skew-feed forces for shifting the recording sheet P in the transverse direction by the skew-feed rollers compression spring 19 is about 70 grams weight at the maximum. - Next, an operation of the
sheet feeding apparatus 10 will be explained with reference to Figs. 2 and 3. - When the leading end of the recording sheet P separated and supplied from the
sheet supply cassette 20 by thesheet supply roller 31 passes through a nip between thesheet feed roller 11 driven by the motor M and the skew-feed roller 12a, a skew-feed force F1 acts on the recording sheet P. Even when the leading end of the recording sheet reaches the skew-feed roller 12b, the lateral edge P1 of the recording sheet P does not contact with thereference guide 17 and thesheet feed roller 11 remains at a predetermined position as shown in Fig. 2. At this point, the skew-feed forces F1, F2 by which the skew-feed rollers reference guide 17 are applied to the recording sheet P as they are. - Thereafter, as shown in Fig. 3, when the leading end of the recording sheet P reaches the skew-
feed roller 12c, the recording sheet P is subjected to a skew-feed force F3 of the skew-feed roller 12c, and, before or after this, the lateral edge P1 of the recording sheet P is abutted against theguide surface 17a of thereference guide 17. At that time, the recording sheet P is subjected to a reaction force F0 corresponding to the total skew-feed force (F1 + F2 + F3) from thereference guide 17, with the result that thesheet feed roller 11 is subjected to a force having substantially the same direction and magnitude as that of the reaction force F0 from the recording sheet P. - The total skew-feed force is selected to have a value of about 150 grams weight as mentioned above, and, when the total skew-feed force acts on the
sheet feed roller 11, since the total skew-feed force overcomes the spring force (about 70 grams weight) of thecompression spring 19, the spring is compressed, thus starting to separate thesheet feed roller 11 from thereference guide 17. In other words, when thesheet feed roller 11 starts to be separated from thereference guide 17, a force of about 70 grams weight is applied to the recording sheet P by thecompression spring 19, with the result that the lateral edge P1 of the recording sheet is urged against thereference guide 17 with a force of about 70 grams weight. - That is to say, when the recording sheet P does not contact with the
reference guide 17, the skew-feed forces F1, F2, F3 of the skew-feed rollers reference guide 17 quickly, and, when the recording sheet P is once contacted with thereference guide 17, the recording sheet P is stably urged against thereference guide 17 with the accurate, stable and constant force F by means of thecompression spring 19. Accordingly, the recording sheet P is shifted for a short time by the greater skew-feed forces until the recording sheet is abutted against thereference guide 17; and, after abutted, the recording sheet P is urged against the reference guide with the force which is smaller than the skew-feed forces and which has the good following ability via thecompression spring 19, thus preventing the lateral edge P1 of the recording sheet from being damaged. - Incidentally, after the recording sheet P is contacted with the
reference guide 17, thesheet feed roller 11 is shifted laterally until the recording sheet leaves thesheet feed roller 11. In the illustrated embodiment, it was found that the shifting amount of about 3 mm was sufficient to permit such lateral shifting of the sheet feed roller. - In place of the above-mentioned skew-feed roller for applying the skew-feed force to the recording sheet P, for example, a skew-feed roller as shown in Fig. 5 may be used. As shown, such skew-feed roller is provided at its
peripheral surface 12d with aspiral groove 12e. With this arrangement, even when an axis of the skew-feed roller is not inclined, i.e., even when the axis of the skew-feed roller is disposed in parallel with the axis of thesheet feed roller 11, the skew-feed roller can apply the skew-feed force to the recording sheet P. When such skew-feed rollers are used in place of the above-mentioned skew-feed rollers - Incidentally, it should be noted that the number of the skew-feed rollers is not limited to three, but any number of skew-feed rollers may be used. Further, as the biasing means, in place of the
compression spring 19, a leaf spring or a cylinder/plunger assembly may be used, for example. That is to say, any biasing means may be used so long as it can effectively bias thesheet feed roller 11. Further, in the illustrated embodiment, while an example that the recording sheets P are separated by the separating pawls was explained, the recording sheets may be separated and fed by other sheet supply means other than the separating pawls. - In the illustrated embodiment, while an example that the
sheet feed roller 11 is shiftably mounted and is biased by thecompression spring 19 was explained, the skew-feed rollers may be shiftable and be spring biased, or both of the sheet fed roller and the skew-feed rollers may be shiftable and be spring biased. - Fig. 6 is a plan view of a sheet feeding apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 7 is a side view of the apparatus.
- In Figs. 6 and 7, a
body frame 101 of the sheet feeding apparatus is disposed along a sheet feeding direction shown by the arrow a for arecording sheet 102. Areference surface 101a for regulating the sheet feeding direction for therecording sheet 102 is formed on an inner side surface of thebody frame 101, and aguide 103 acting as a sheet feeding surface for therecording sheet 102 is disposed at a side (right side in Fig. 6) of thereference surface 101a. - An
opening 103a is formed in theguide 103 at a predetermined position. A tapered sheet feed roller (rotary member) 104 is disposed above theopening 103a at a fixed position, and a drivenroller 105 urged against thesheet feed roller 104 is disposed within theopening 103a. Thesheet feed roller 104 is attached to ashaft 106 rotatably supported by theframe 101 and rotated by a driving force from a driving source (not shown). - When the
recording sheet 102 is pinched between and fed by thesheet feed roller 104 and the drivenroller 105, thesheet feed roller 104 applies a feeding force to therecording sheet 102 to shift the latter toward the direction a and toward thereference surface 101a. To this end, thesheet feed roller 104 has a tapered body having predetermined length and tapered angle. The tapered body of thesheet feed roller 104 attached to theshaft 106 has a diameter gradually decreasing toward thereference surface 101a. The drivenroller 105 cooperates with thesheet feed roller 104 to feed therecording sheet 102 in the direction a. To this end, the drivenroller 105 is mounted on ashaft 105a disposed below theguide 103 and is urged against thesheet feed roller 104 by a biasing force of aspring 105d. The drivenroller 105 has a length longer than that of thesheet feed roller 104 and substantially equal to a length of two-flat plane portion 106a of theshaft 106 which will be described later. Further, the drivenroller 105 has aparallel portion 105a of a predetermined length disposed at an end of the roller nearer to thereference surface 101a, and asmaller diameter portion 105b disposed near an end of the roller remote from thereference surface 101a. Thus, it is possible to apply different feeding forces to therecording sheet 102 when theparallel portion 105a of the drivenroller 105 is urged against thesheet feed roller 104 and when thesmaller diameter portion 105b is urged against the sheet feed roller. - As mentioned above, the
shaft 106 has the two-flat plane portion 106a having a predetermined length, and ahead 106b is formed on the end of the two-flat plane portion 106a. Thesheet feed roller 104 is slidably mounted on the two-flat plane portion 106a of theshaft 106 by inserting ahole 104a of the sheet feed roller having the same cross-section as that of the two-flat plane portion 106a onto the latter. Aspring 107 is arranged between the head 106b and thesheet feed roller 104 to bias the latter toward thereference surface 101a. The spring constant of thespring 107 is so set as to have a relatively small value. Incidentally, thereference numerals spring 107. Agear 108 is secured to the other end of theshaft 106, which gear is meshed with agear 109 constituting a part of a gear train arranged on theframe 101. By transmitting a driving force from a drive source M to thegear 108, thesheet feed roller 104 is rotated in a direction shown by the arrow b. - Next, a sheet feeding operation effected by the sheet feeding apparatus having the above-mentioned arrangement will be explained.
- First of all, it is assumed that the
recording sheet 102 is supplied from a sheet supply means (not shown) in a condition that the lateral edge of the sheet is spaced apart from thereference surface 101a by a distance ℓ, for example. When thesheet 102 is pinched between thesheet feed roller 104 rotating in the direction b and the drivenroller 105 urged against the sheet fedroller 104, in accordance with a friction force between thesheet feed roller 104 and thesheet 102 and the tapered angle of the sheet feed roller, thesheet 102 is subjected to a force f1 directing toward the sheet feeding direction a and a force f2 directing toward thereference surface 101a, with the result that thesheet 102 is shifted toward the sheet feeding direction a and toward thereference surface 101a. In this case, a force corresponding to the force f2 acts on thespring 107 to flex the latter, so that the total force comprised of the spring force and a friction force between an inner peripheral surface of thesheet feed roller 104 and an outer peripheral surface of theshaft 106 is balanced with the force f2. - When the
sheet 102 is shifted toward thereference surface 101a by the distance ℓ to be abutted against the reference surface, thesheet 102 is shifted toward thereference surface 101a no longer. Consequently, thesheet feed roller 104 is subjected to a force f2' which is proportional to the product of a friction of coefficient between theroller 104 and thesheet 102 and the urging force of the drivenroller 105. Now, a relation f2' > f2 is established. - Accordingly, when the force acting on the
sheet feed roller 104 is increased, the spring 197 is compressed depending upon this force, thus shifting thesheet feed roller 104 along the two-flat plane portion 106a of theshaft 106 in a direction that the roller is separated from thereference surface 101a (toward thehead 106b). That is to say, the spring constant of thespring 107 is selected so as to be smaller than a backling force of thesheet 102, in consideration of the friction force between the inner peripheral surface of thesheet feed roller 104 and the outer peripheral surface of theshaft 106. - A shifting amount of the
sheet feed roller 104 varies in accordance with the length of thesheet 102. That is to say, the longer thesheet 102 the greater the shifting amount of the sheet feed roller. When thesheet 102, to be fed is long, thesheet feed roller 104 is shifted toward thehead 106b in accordance with the feeding length of thesheet 102. When thesheet feed roller 104 reaches thesmaller diameter portion 105b of the drivenroller 105, the urging force of the drivenroller 105 against thesheet feed roller 104 becomes weaker. Consequently, the feeding force applied to thesheet 102 also becomes weaker, thus weakening the force f2' acting on thesheet feed roller 104. Thus, the flexing amount of thespring 107 becomes smaller than that when thesheet feed roller 104 is abutted against theparallel portion 105a of the drivenroller 105. As a result, thespring 107 is not urged toward thehead 106b excessively, and thus, if the sheet is long, it is not urged against thereference surface 101a with the excessive force, thereby preventing the damage of thespring 107. - In this way, it is possible to feed any recording sheet while abutting it against the reference surface regardless of the kind and/or material of the sheets without damaging the lateral edge of the sheet and the sheet feeding apparatus. Further, since there is no slip between the recording sheet being fed and the sheet feed roller, it is possible to lengthen the service life of the sheet feed roller. In addition, the dimensional accuracy of each of the constructural elements and/or the accuracy in attachment or positioning of these elements can be releaved.
- Fig. 8 is a plan view of a sheet feeding apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention. Incidentally, in this embodiment, the same constructural elements as those in the above second embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.
- An
elongated slot 110 extending to a sheet feeding direction a is formed in aframe 101 in such a manner that it is positioned above aguide 103 by a predetermined distance. Aspring 111 is attached to the frame at a predetermined distance from theslot 110. By fitting ashaft 113 on which a cylindrical sheet feed roller (rotary member) 112 is secured into theslot 110, theshaft 113 is rotatably mounted on theframe 101 in such a manner that it is biased toward areference surface 101a by means of thespring 111. Further, thesheet feed roller 112 is biased toward theguide 103 by means of a spring (not shown). The biasing of the sheet feed roller may be effected in the same manner as that shown in Fig. 6.Stoppers shaft 113 are disposed along theelongated slot 110. Thestopper 114 is disposed at a position where theshaft 113 becomes perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction a, and thestopper 115 is disposed at a position where it regulates the maximum angle between theshaft 113 and the sheet feeding direction a. - A
gear 108 is secured to theshaft 113. By transmitting a driving force from a drive source (not shown) to thegear 108 via thegear 109 constituting a part of a gear train, thesheet feed roller 112 is rotated in a direction shown by the arrow b. Further, in the condition that thegear 108 and thesheet feed roller 112 are secured to theshaft 113, when a distance between a center of the frame 101 (around which the shaft is rocked) and thegear 108 is L1 and a distance between the center of the frame and thesheet feed roller 112 is L2, it is so selected that the distance L2 is sufficiently longer than the distance L1. - With this arrangement, when the
sheet 102 is not supplied, thesheet feed roller 112 is biased by the spring to be inclined as shown by the solid line in Fig. 8. When thesheet 102 is supplied in such a manner that the lateral edge of the sheet is spaced apart from thereference surface 101a by a distance ℓ, thesheet 102 is subjected to a feeding force directing toward the sheet feeding direction a and a feeding force directing toward thereference surface 101a, and is shifted toward the sheet feeding direction a and toward thereference surface 101a in opposition to a friction force (f3) between thesheet 102 and theguide 103. As shown by a dot and chain line in Fig. 8, when thesheet 102 is abutted against thereference surface 101a, thesheet 102 is subjected to the compression force (f1) between thereference surface 101a and thesheet feed roller 112. The spring force (f2) of thespring 111 is so selected that it counterbalances the force that thegear 108 receives from thegear 109, and a relation f1 > f2 ≧ f3 is established at the position shown by the dot and chain line in Fig. 8. - When the
sheet 102 is subjected to the compression force (f1) by abutting it against thereference surface 101a, thespring 111 is flexed to vary the inclination angle of theshaft 113, with the result that thesheet feed roller 112 is shifted from the solid line position to the broken line position. In response to such shifting of thesheet feed roller 112, the feeding force acting on thesheet 102 and directing toward thereference surface 101a becomes weaker accordingly, and, thesheet feed roller 112 is shifted until the compression force f1 acting on thesheet 102 by thesheet feed roller 112 is balanced with the spring force f2, and then, the sheet feed roller is held at that position. - In this case, although the meshing length between the
gears sheet feed roller 112 and L1/L2, which value is in the order of the value of the module of thegear 108. Therefore, the strength of thegears sheet 102 to be fed is long, it is possible to abut thesheet 102 against thereference surface 101a always with a substantially constant force. - In the illustrated embodiments, while an example that the skew-feed rollers are used as one of the rollers which pinch the sheet therebetween and feed the sheet in order to urge the sheet against the reference guide was explained, the present invention is not limited to this example, but both of the rollers may comprise skew-feed rollers. Further, a member which cooperates with the skew-feed rollers to pinch the sheet therebetween is not limited to the rotary member such as the sheet feed roller, but may be constituted by a guide member having a smooth surface.
- The present invention provides a sheet feeding apparatus, comprising regulating means disposed along a sheet feeding path and adapted to regulated position of a lateral edge of a sheet, sheet feeding means for feeding the sheet along the sheet feeding path and for applying force to the sheet to urge the lateral edge of the sheet against the regulating means, and support means for supporting the sheet feeding means in such a manner that the sheet feeding means can be shifted in response to reaction force corresponding to the aforementioned force and received from the sheet.
Claims (15)
- A sheet feeding apparatus, comprising:
regulating means disposed along a sheet feeding path and adapted to regulate position of a lateral edge of a sheet;
sheet feeding means for feeding the sheet along said sheet feeding path and for applying force to the sheet to urge the lateral edge of the sheet against said regulating means; and
support means for supporting said sheet feeding means in such a manner that said sheet feeding means can be shifted in response to reaction force corresponding to the aforementioned force and received from the sheet. - A sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said regulating means has a guide member against which the lateral edge of the sheet can be abutted.
- A sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said sheet feeding means has a rotary member rotated by contacting with the sheet.
- A sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said rotary member is disposed so that a rotation axis of said rotary member is inclined with respect to a direction perpendicular to said sheet feeding direction, by a predetermined angle.
- A sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said rotary member has diameter gradually decreasing toward said regulating means.
- A sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said rotary member is provided at an outer peripheral surface thereof with a spiral groove.
- A sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said support means supports said rotary member for shifting movement in a direction that said rotary member is separated from said regulating means.
- A sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 3, further including a second rotary member cooperating with the aforementioned or first rotary member to pinch the sheet therebetween, wherein said support means rotatably supports at least one of said first and second rotary members.
- A sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said support means includes shaft for supporting said one of the first and second rotary members.
- A sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 9, wherein one of said first and second rotary members is slidably supported on said shaft for movement in an axial direction of said shaft.
- A sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said support means includes a biasing means for biasing one of said first and second rotary members toward said regulating means.
- A sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said biasing means has a spring member.
- A sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said support means has a shaft for supporting said rotary member, which shaft is rockably supported.
- A sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said support means includes a biasing means for biasing said shaft to rock the latter so that said rotary member approaches to said regulating means.
- An image forming system, comprising:
regulating means disposed along a sheet feeding path and adapted to regulate position of a lateral edge of a sheet;
sheet feeding means for feeding the sheet along said sheet feeding path and for applying force to the sheet to urge the lateral edge of the sheet against said regulating means;
support means for supporting said sheet feeding means in such a manner that said sheet feeding means can be shifted in response to reaction force corresponding to the aforementioned force and received from the sheet; and
image forming means for forming an image on the sheet fed by said sheet feeding means.
Applications Claiming Priority (4)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
JP22692/91 | 1991-01-24 | ||
JP3022692A JPH04243751A (en) | 1991-01-24 | 1991-01-24 | Device for conveying sheet-shaped member |
JP80819/91 | 1991-03-19 | ||
JP3080819A JP2798144B2 (en) | 1991-03-19 | 1991-03-19 | Paper feeder |
Publications (3)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP0496398A2 true EP0496398A2 (en) | 1992-07-29 |
EP0496398A3 EP0496398A3 (en) | 1993-03-10 |
EP0496398B1 EP0496398B1 (en) | 1998-04-08 |
Family
ID=26359947
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP92101087A Expired - Lifetime EP0496398B1 (en) | 1991-01-24 | 1992-01-23 | Sheet feeding apparatus |
Country Status (4)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US5507482A (en) |
EP (1) | EP0496398B1 (en) |
KR (1) | KR950011870B1 (en) |
DE (1) | DE69225008T2 (en) |
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EP0653367A1 (en) * | 1993-11-15 | 1995-05-17 | NCR International, Inc. | Document alignment system |
DE19514240C2 (en) * | 1995-04-15 | 2003-11-13 | Heidelberger Druckmasch Ag | Device for aligning a sheet on a sheet support surface |
CN102785956A (en) * | 2012-08-20 | 2012-11-21 | 天津光电通信技术有限公司 | Paper feeding guide sheet for lateral paper feeding system of office equipment |
EP3330933A4 (en) * | 2015-07-27 | 2018-08-22 | GRG Banking Equipment Co., Ltd. | Method and device for correcting deviation of paper medium, and financial self-service device |
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US5795087A (en) * | 1997-04-15 | 1998-08-18 | International Business Machines Corporation | Pivoting roller for skewless document feed |
JP3769913B2 (en) * | 1997-12-26 | 2006-04-26 | 富士ゼロックス株式会社 | Sheet alignment apparatus and image forming apparatus provided with the same |
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CN102785956A (en) * | 2012-08-20 | 2012-11-21 | 天津光电通信技术有限公司 | Paper feeding guide sheet for lateral paper feeding system of office equipment |
EP3330933A4 (en) * | 2015-07-27 | 2018-08-22 | GRG Banking Equipment Co., Ltd. | Method and device for correcting deviation of paper medium, and financial self-service device |
US10777032B2 (en) | 2015-07-27 | 2020-09-15 | Grg Banking Equipment Co., Ltd. | Method and device for correcting deviation of paper medium, and financial self-service device |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
DE69225008T2 (en) | 1998-09-17 |
KR920015169A (en) | 1992-08-26 |
KR950011870B1 (en) | 1995-10-11 |
US5507482A (en) | 1996-04-16 |
DE69225008D1 (en) | 1998-05-14 |
EP0496398A3 (en) | 1993-03-10 |
EP0496398B1 (en) | 1998-04-08 |
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